ToddlingAroundTheWorld

#givethanks Day 5: I’m so grateful that I was blessed to be a missionary in Japan. Along with all of the fantastic missionaries I served with, I grew to love so many of the Samurai, Ninja and Yamato nadeshiko that I met. The language, the culture and the fantastic memories I made there will always hold a big part of my heart.  I got my first job at Microsoft because I knew Japanese. I still watch Sumo, Anime and other bangumi in Japanese to help with language retention. LeAnn and I love going out to eat Japanese food. It is an amazing country with some of the kindest people in the world, for which I am eternally grateful.  日本で宣教師になることができてとても感謝しています。 一緒に奉仕した素晴らしい宣教師たちと一緒に、私は出会った多くの侍、忍者、やまとなでしこを愛するようになりました。 私がそこで作った言語、文化、そして素晴らしい思い出は、いつも私の心の大きな部分を占めています。  私は日本語を知っていたので、マイクロソフトで最初の仕事に就きました。 私は今でも相撲やアニメなどの日本語の番組を見て、言語の保持に役立てています。  LeAnnと私は日本食を食べに行くのが大好きです。 世界で最も親切な人々がいる素晴らしい国であり、私は永遠に感謝しています。 #givethanks

#givethanks Day 4: These goobers.  They make me laugh. They make me proud. They made me understand what pure love is - when you love a child with every ounce of your being. When you feel such happiness at their successes, such pain for their sorrows, I can understand the infinite love our Father in Heaven has for each of us as I see them grow and progress through this life.  What joy it has given me to be the father of these three.  #givethanks

#givethanks day 3 This lady. I was going to save the best for last, but she is so fantastic, I couldn’t wait! She is Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind... Some of you might think I am quoting from the Scout Law, however, the traits she has, and the ways she makes the world a better place, would take volumes of adjectives to describe. Me, my family, and all those that know her are blessed to have her in our lives. She truly is an angel among us.  #givethanks

#givethanks day 2 I am so thankful that after 13,800 miles of #toddlingaroundtheworld , my legs still work. Though I expected to be as skinny as a Walking Stick by now, that hasn’t quite come true. I am definitely healthier, fitter and stronger than I was 4 1/2 years ago when I started this journey. Our bodies are amazing vessels, which enable us to experience such joy through using them in various ways. Experiencing the beauty of this world on my walk today was another testament to how much Heavenly Father cares for us. Being able to see some of his amazing animal creations alongside the stunning backdrop of the Puget Sound was the perfect cap on a lovely morning.  #givethanks

#givethanks day 1 I’m thankful for this lazy dog, who, right when I went over to take a picture of him participating in his favorite pastime, which is sleeping, popped right up and came over to me with his tail wagging. I’m also grateful that he continues to wake up everyday after 16 years, even when there have been a few times that we have had to poke him to make sure he is still breathing!  Let us each strive to show that perfect love toward others like our dogs do toward us.  #givethanks

#givethanks day 2 I am so thankful that after 13,800 miles of #toddlingaroundtheworld , my legs still work. Though I expected to be as skinny as a Walking Stick by now, that hasn’t quite come true. I am definitely healthier, fitter and stronger than I was 4 1/2 years ago when I started this journey. Our bodies are amazing vessels, which enable us to experience such joy through using them in various ways. Experiencing the beauty of this world on my walk today was another testament to how much Heavenly Father cares for us. Being able to see some of his amazing animal creations alongside the stunning backdrop of the Puget Sound was the perfect cap on a lovely morning.  #givethanks #toddlingaroundtheworld

Sometimes the Love of the Game hurts. From his first foot injury while playing soccer for the Pirates when he was 11, to this latest one while playing soccer in Las Vegas, Austin is now celebrating the 10 year anniversary of having   to wear a boot, by celebrating what we hope is the LAST foot injury where he has to wear a boot. Otherwise, he is healing well from the surgery and is about ready to ditch the crutches after a solid 3 1/2 months.

The Marvel Epoch: As in this was a significant period of my life which covered very close to SIX marathons worth of #TreadmillMovieMarathons while watching all of the Marvel movies in order (chronologically and in order of release date) This one was a doozy, taking about a month to complete. I did find myself out on night walks as well walking and watching on my phone occasionally. It was fun to be engrossed in these movies, each of them being so entertaining. I grew up reading some of these comic books and it is a fun reminder of my youth. Of all of these, Spider-Man is still my favorite superhero. Keeping his sense of humor while saving the world is something to aspire to. 😉  Love, love, love having Austin home with us. He has inspired me through his example to work harder each day to be a better man. He helps us be more prayerful and we are reading the scriptures more often. He brings a special light into our home.  Day 1594 since starting #toddlingaroundtheworld 13,767 mi...

Was having a great Friday the 13th until I decided to be a Good Samaritan. While walking on the trail with LeAnn, she saw a dog walker in front of us drop his glove and not realize it. He was about 100 yards in front of us and I figured we would catch up with him once his dog needed a bio break. Seems his dog had an iron bladder. When we got to the end of the trail, I thought he would turn around and start walking back to the trailhead. However, he kept going out toward our neighborhood. Before he could escape, I figured I should try and catch him. I actually jogged the 100 yards to catch him. There is a reason I don’t jog. The impact on my knees with the osteoarthritis and knee surgeries does not hold up well. Still sore and hobbling along today.  Good news was: he was thrilled that I brought his glove to him and said he was grateful he didn’t have to ask for a new pair for Christmas! Also had a great walk in the morning at the Golden Gardens, outside of Ballard, so I guess the go...

Got my fleece jacket swag for finishing the Utah National Parks Challenge. Finished 369 miles in 40 days  . #toddlingaroundtheworld #seattletobahiablanca

02/27/2021 I just kept walking A friend sent me the link for this virtual run/walk. Said I’m pretty much like Forrest, but I walk. Since you could do either a 5K, 10K or 13.1 miles, I did them all. Finished 22.4 miles in 2 days. ‘Forrest: [running] I had run for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours. [he stops and turns around] Young Man Running: Quiet, quiet! He’s gonna say something! Forrest: I’m pretty tired… I think I’ll go home now.’ Todd: [walking] I have walked for 4 years, 8 months, 21 days, and 3 hours. [he stops and doesn’t turn around] Todd: I’m pretty tired... I think I’ll keep #ToddlingAroundTheWorld now. #ToddlingAroundtheWorld Completed 14642.47 #ToddlingAroundTheWorld Remaining 2,068

02/25/2021 Grover is my Spirit Animal. In anticipation of finishing 500 miles this year while focusing on the #sesamestreetchallenge , I celebrated with a new Grover shirt! I always loved watching Grover on Sesame Street. Both Grover and I ‘debuted’ in 1970! 😆 I love how fun-loving, generous and kind Grover is, and see those as admirable traits to emulate. I hit 504.7 miles for the year tonight while my buddy, Big Bird, cheered me on from the treadmill. Thanks Virtual Running Club for the fun challenge. It has been a nostalgic and wonderful journey! #ToddlingAroundTheWorld #SeattleToBahiaBlanca

02/15/2021 Recently completed the DC #TreadmillMovieMarathons. It was a fun journey filled with bats, penguins, jokers, riddlers, lanterns, Wonders, Supers, Robins, Aquamen and Losers. One of the statements that really stood out for me was from the ‘V for Vendetta’ movie: especially because it is so apparent in the PNW, is ‘God is in the Rain' I hadn’t seen this one before, but there are quite a few parallels with what is going on in our day with the political climate and the pandemic. This has made me think on how God gives us rain, which in turn gives us so much beauty and happiness and also life itself on this earth. Imagine a world without flowers and trees and lakes and rivers and oceans and all of the life therein. Without the water that gives each of us sustenance each day. Showers, hot tubs and toilets, dishwashers and washing machines all function because of the bounty of the rain. Though we may not like it when it rains in general and we would prefer to stay out of it...

02/05/2021 In 2015 I had a rextopexy surgery where the recovery has been just as bad as it sounds. It was initially hard for me to stand up, let alone walk without terrible pain. After dealing with that for a year and not seeing much improvement, I decided to shape up instead of ship out. I started with a walk around the block and then tried to improve a little each day. From there, I started focusing on virtual walks. These gave me the incentive and rewards for completing a certain distance, while giving a great sense of accomplishment. After completing a few of those, I set a larger, and at that time, incomprehensible goal for myself. In 2016, my daughter was serving as a missionary in the Czech Republic. I calculated the distance from our home in the Seattle area to Prague. It was 5,219 miles. I determined that I would walk the distance from Seattle to Prague over the course of the time that my daughter was a missionary. That gave me 18 months to walk that distance from #seattletop...